In Ct., Ryan says Obama seeking to divide nation

By Neil Vigdor

DARIEN — Bypassing traditional battleground states, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan primed the pump for the GOP ticket during three separate fundraisers in Connecticut Sunday that gave him a pulpit to play the role of attack dog.

The fundraising swing, which started in West Hartford and culminated in Greenwich, marked the debut of the House Budget Committee chairman on Connecticut’s lucrative fundraising trail, often described as the ATM of politics.

A boy wonder to conservatives whose support for a voucher alternative to Medicare has alienated a vocal part of the electorate, the 42-year-old Wisconsinite ascended to national prominence in August when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the party’s presidential nominee picked Ryan as his running mate.

In his only appearance of the day that was open to a handful of reporters, Ryan assailed President Barack Obama’s record during an afternoon reception at Woodway Country Club in Darien where the guest list was said to include New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and JetBlue founder David Neeleman, of New Canaan.

“Since he cannot run on his record, he’s going to try to clutter, he’s going to try and divide, he’s going to distort, to try and distract, to try to win this thing by default,” Ryan told about 300 supporters inside the club’s ballroom.

Tickets to the Darien fundraiser started at $1,000 per person and went up to $10,000 for a more intimate roundtable with Ryan. For $5,000, attendees could have a photo taken with Ryan, who accused Obama’s campaign of creating a phony caricature of Romney.

“It’s what we call a proverbial straw man argument,” Ryan said. “It’s intellectually lazy. It’s a false choice and a false dichotomy and we’re not gonna let him get away with it.”

A fundraising total for Ryan’s trip to Connecticut, which was notable in that it was on the final Sunday of the penultimate month of the campaign, was not available from the Romney-Ryan campaign.

Proceeds from the event were slated to go to the Romney-Ryan campaign, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Ryan was introduced by Howard Morgan, a member of the event’s host committee from Darien, who is president of Branford Chain, a New York City-based marketer and distributor of marine equipment. Like many of the Romney’s wealthy Fairfield County fundraising bundlers, Morgan has a background in private equity.

“The vice president is a reflection of Mitt Romney’s judgment and, God, his judgment is great,” Morgan said.

Ryan was accompanied to Connecticut by his wife, Janna Ryan, and a sizable Secret Service detail, which combed the grounds of the country club, including the golf course, where some members squeezed in a round.

“When it comes to the individual, I know no one like Paul Ryan, who trusts individualism over collectivism, who knows that the American people are going to take back this country and make it great again,” Morgan said.

There were two notable snubs during Ryan’s visit to Connecticut, which began at the West Hartford home of businessman Arnold Chase.

Linda McMahon and Andrew Roraback, the party’s candidates for Senate and the House in the 5th District, did not attend any of the events, citing scheduling conflicts.

In addition to the chief elected officials of Darien, Stamford and Norwalk, the host committee of the afternoon reception included 4th District congressional hopeful Steve Obsitnik, who did not speak publicly at the event.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn, the two-term incumbent in the race, said by telephone that Obsitnik’s participation in the fundraiser goes against his claim of being a moderate.

“Paul Ryan’s visit, whether it’s his personhood bill or his voucher plan for Medicare, is so radical I think his presence in this state probably helps the Democrats,” Himes said.

A poll by the University of Connecticut and the Hartford Courant in mid-September found Obama with a 46-43 percent lead over Romney, a closer margin than many had expected in one of the nation’s most Democratic states.

Ryan spoke for about 10 minutes at the Darien event, where the menu included steak sliders, a fruit platter and an open bar. About two dozen children were in the audience.

“Do we want a stagnant economy that fosters dependency?” Ryan asked.

During his remarks, Ryan made no mention of Medicare, which has become a hot-button issue of the campaign since he joined the ticket with Romney.

Ryan charged Democrats under President Obama with demagoguery.

“We don’t resent each others’ success,” Ryan said of Republicans. “We don’t envy it. We want to emulate it.”

From Darien, Ryan visited the Riverside home of state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, a prolific GOP fundraiser who has hosted Romney and President George W. Bush on multiple occasions at his residence.

Ryan was scheduled to have dinner with mega-donors at the Conyers Farm estate of Clifford Asness, co-founder of the major hedge fund AQR Capital, but the event was moved to Scarsdale, N.Y.

In his remarks at the Darien fundraiser, Ryan said the GOP ticket will use the resources to counter the distorted narrative coming from Obama’s re-election campaign.  

“You don’t see what’s going on TV living here, fortunately,” Ryan said, alluding to the recession. “Nah, it just comes with the territory. But please know that the resources you’re providing us give us the ability to enter what we call the debate phase of this campaign.”

neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy